I started this a long time ago when browsing through Tartakower
and du Mont's 500 Master games of chess, mostly
because they kept throwing in different terms for various sorts of
sacrifices. If you know other good sources, please let me know!

An international glossary is to be found in Hooper and
Whyld's Companion.

Glossary and Acronyms:

an approach to positional play, seen in Steinitz, where one advantage
is used to secure another, or at least is held while another is
sought.
Examples in the Strategy/Themes
section of the Canon by Steinitz.

active defence:

defence involving some form of
counterattacking method - either by attacking elsewhere, or by attacks
against the opponents' attacking pieces.
Example in the Defence
section of the Canon.

advantage:

to have more of a chessboard asset -
material or positional (time, space, mobility, Pawn skeleton)
Examples all over the Canon.

AI =

Artificial Intelligence

amaurosis scachistica:

chess blindness
(oversight), described ironically as a disease by Dr. Tarrasch. There
is a superb example from Krogius in the
Errors section of the Canon.

analysis:

usually an examination of variations
Examples in the Analysis
section of the Canon.

anti-positional:

against good strategical
principles, as opposed to being a tactical oversight; Fischer famously
described the Winawer Variation
as "anti-positional", as it gives up the good Bishop and
weakens the King's-side.

artificial castling, or castling by hand:

to exchange positions of king and rook by other means than normal
castling e.g. by playing Ke1-f2, Rh1-e1,Kf2-g1 as in the main line of
the Benko Gambit.

artificial manoeuvre:

trying a bit too hard, or
making an odd use of pieces. Simple examples might include blockading
a pawn with a Q or developing the Rook by h2-h4 and Rh1-h3. Capablanca's
style was the opposite of
artificial - his games have a natural, graceful feel which is easy to
recognise (but hard to do).

attack:

to move with a threat e.g. so that an
opponent's piece may be taken; more generally, to move pieces towards
e.g. the king's side in the hope of mate. Also used to describe some
opening systems initiated by White, e.g. King's Indian Attack.

back rank:

the rank behind your Pawns. After
castling the King's movement forward is often blocked by Pawns on the
f,g and h files, and if the Rooks are played forwards you may fall
into a back rank mate. In order to avoid this, players may
create Luft (airhole) by a move like h2-h3. There are
examples of back rank mates in the Tactics section of the Canon.

bad bishop:

a bishop hemmed in by its own pawns,
on the same colour squares. Examples in the Bishops handout (and in the Canon).

having holes on
the black squares.
Examples include Bernstein-Mieses and Znosko-Borovsky vs. Mackenzie in
the Strategy/Themes section
of the Canon.

black square complex:

a network of black squares.
Examples include Bernstein-Mieses and Znosko-Borovsky vs. Mackenzie in
the Strategy/Themes section
of the Canon.

blockade:

usually of pawns - a pawn may be
blockaded by an enemy piece or pawn standing in front of it. The same
effect may be achieved by good control of the square in front of it so
that it would be taken without compensation if it advanced. example?

blockaded pawn:

a pawn where the square in front
is occupied (or strongly controlled) by opposing pieces. An isolated
pawn on c6 can be blockaded by Nc5; there are lots of examples in the
Pawn mobility handout.

a Pawn move with the hope or
intention of opening lines, particularly files. In blocked positions
like the French Defence it's important to
organise your own pawn break.

break-up sacrifice:

a sacrifice to disrupt the
defences e.g. Bxh6, gxh6, an example of which can be found in the Attacking section of the Canon.

breakthrough:

the breaching of an apparently
secure formation, often with sacrifice of material, as in the
Pillsbury-Lasker game in the French
Defence.

building a bridge:

Nimzovitch's description of how
to win the Lucena position (q.v.) in a Rook ending.

candidate move:

a move considered as a starting
point in the analysis of variations. The term was made popular by
Kotov's classic Think Like
a GM, the first chapter of which has been very influential; there
are some examples in theAnalysis section of the Canon.

candidate:

a Pawn that may be promoted; also, a
player in competition to become the challenger for the world
championship(s). See tha game Marshall-Capablanca in the handout on
Pawn mobility.

CC =

correspondence chess (also known as postal chess,
although e-mail chess is catching up!)

centralisation:

to move pieces towards the centre
- a good idea if there is no obvious alternative plan. Example in the
Strategical Themes section of
the Canon.

centre:

the central four squares e4/d4/e5/d5 or
the sixteen squares including these and those next to them.

clearance sacrifice:

see vacating sacrifice

close game or closed opening:

often slow, partly
blocked positions, often arising from e.g. 1. d4 d5, with locked
chains of pawns. There are several examples discussed in the
Pawn formations handout.

combination:

a forcing sequence involving threats
(of capture, check and/or mate), probably involving a sacrifice. There
are examples in the Tactics
and Attacking sections of the
Canon.

complementary sacrifice:

a sacrifice which follows
up a previous sacrifice - e.g. the double bishop sacrifice
Bxh7/Bxg7, or two others like Rxf6/Nxh7 (See Lasker-Bauer)

concentric:

towards the centre

conjugate squares (coordinate squares):

squares on
which Kings have the relation of distant opposition, possibly
complicated by intervening Pawns of either colour example?

connected pawn:

a Pawn with a Pawn on an adjacent
file; a group of connected pawns form a pawn island. There is a nice example from Capa in the handout
On manoeuvres, and another from Karpov
in the style section of the
Canon.

consolidating manoeuvre:

to shore up a point e.g.
Re8, Qe7, Nf6-d7 to protect e5.

control of centre:

the controlling influence of
one side over the central squares. See the rules for openings, and the opening
section and under centralisation sections in the
Canon. The hypermoderns pointed out
that need not mean its occupation.

cooperation/coordination:

a general term used to
describe the way pieces work togther - for example, in an endgame, Q+N
coordinate better than Q+B, a circumstance in which it is no
disadvantage to have a Knight while the opponent has a Bishop (see
minor exchange). There are some nice examples of
coordination in the Strategy/Themes section of the
Canon.

cramp:

lack of mobility. See the
examples on Space in Strategy/Themes section of the
Canon.

cross-check:

a check in reply to a check, typical
of Queen endings (See the second Nimzo game in the handout On Manoeuvres.)

decentralise:

to move away from the centre, often
an anti-positional move. There are examples in the handouts on BishopsItalian Game.

decisive:

a move which alters or makes certain the
result of a game: a decisive move may make an advantageous
position a winning one, a decisive error may lose the
advantage, or the game. Examples are to be found in the handout on Planning, and Kotov's Think Like
a GM.

a sacrifice to remove a piece,
e.g. to play Ba5 when ...Qc7xa5 means that the K will lack an
important defender (see decoy)

defence:

to move to defend against an threat, e.g.
to protect a piece that is attacked; more generally, a period of the
game where the player is meeting and anticipating threats during an
attack. Also used for opening systems chosen by Black, e.g. King's
Indian Defence. There is a section in the Canon on Defence.

deflection:

to distract a piece or pawn away from
a task [example?]

deflecting sacrifice:

a sacrifice to deflect a
defending piece e.g. to play Re1-e4 to deflect a Black Qb4 away from
attacking b2. example?

denuding sacrifice:

a sacrifice to strip away
defending pawn shield e.g. Bxh6 from the Attack section of the Canon.

the chain of squares of the same colour
running diagonally across the board: a1-h8 and a7-g1 are diagonals example?

diagonal mate:

mate where the decisive check is
delivered along a diagonal, as in Fool's mate 1. g4 e5 2. f4
Qh4#

discovered attack:

to attack by moving a piece or
pawn out of the way of a line-piece such as rook, bishop or queen.
1.e4 discovers an attack on b5 and h5.
There are examples in the Tactics
section of the Canon.

discovered check:

to deliver check by moving a
piece or pawn out of the way of a line-piece such as rook, bishop or
queen.
There are examples in the Tactics
section of the Canon.

disjunction:

separation of pieces or pawns example?

dislodging manoeuvre:

a move to upset a defensive
formation example?

disorganisation:

where pieces fail to protect key
squares or each other, the opposite of coordination. See the
booklet on Italian Game.

distant opposition:

Kings separated by more than
one rank (or file) but which still have the relation of opposition
e.g. Kings on g1 and g5. See also the booklet on King and pawn endings.

distant/outside passed Pawn:

a passed Pawn on the
other side of the board from the defending King or other pieces -
usually winning in a King and Pawn ending [example?]

diversionary sacrifice:

sacrifice in order to
decoy [example?]

double (of Pawns):

to force enemy Pawns to become
doubled, as in the booklet on Pawn
mobility.

doubled Pawns:

Pawns on the same file, often one
obstructing the other, as in the booklet on Pawn
mobility.

double (of Rooks):

Rooks on the same file; if the
Queen is also on that file the major pieces are tripled.
We can see doubling in the handout on
Rooks, tripling in the one on Pins.

double attack:

to attack two pieces at the same
time with one move; 1.e4 attacks d5 and f5. Chernev and Reinfeld say
that this is one of the two central themes of tactical play (the other
being concentration of force). Lots of examples in the Tactics section of the Canon.

double Bishop sacrifice:

two complementary Bishop
sacrifices, e.g. on g7 and h7, as in the famous game Lasker-Bauer.

double check:

check from two pieces at once,
always obliging a King move. Examples in the Tactics section of the Canon.

double fianchetto:

both Bishops developed in
fianchetto, as the Hypermodern
Reti was fond of doing.

double Rook sacrifice:

typically to allow a Queen
to play ...Qxa1+, K moves, Qxh1, hoping to decoy the Queen away from
defence. The Immortal Game features such a sacrifice, included in the
attacking section of the Canon.

DT =

Deep Thought

DT II =

Deep Thought; next version

eccentric development:

moving a piece to an
unusual square e.g. Ng1-h3.

ECO =

Encylopedia of Chess Openings

elimination sacrifice:

a sacrifice to remove an
important defender e.g. ...Rc8xNc3. Compare with examples of 'removing the
guard' from the Tactics
section of the Canon, which are without sacrifices.

ELO =

rating using Prof. Arpad Elo's rating system

en prise:

in a position to be taken

endgame:

a game where several pairs of pieces have
been exchanged, probably including the Queens, and where play is
concerned not with checkmate or tactics as much as with gaining, and
promoting, Pawns. See Endgame Handouts.

equilibrium/balance of position:

an equal but not
lifeless position is in balance or equilibrium; if this is not
disturbed the correct result should be a draw. However, unduly slow or
unduly rash moves may disturb the balance and give the opponent the
advantage. See latitude of the draw.

error:

a mistake in analysis or assessment; a gross oversight is called
a blunder.
There is a section on errors
in the Canon.

exchange:

exchange is used in two senses - to swap
off for equal material, or unequal material. To lose the
exchange usually means to lose rook for bishop. The minor
exchange refers to the loss of bishop for knight, but this is not
always a disadvantage. [example?]

extended fianchetto:

to fianchetto with
e.g. b3 and Ba3. Also used for fianchetto with b4 and Bb2. [example?]

F-S II =

Fischer-Spassky match held Sept-Nov '92 (Fischer
won 10-5)

fairy chess:

chess with newly invented pieces,
usually seen in studies but can be played as a new game. [example?]

family check:

a check with other pieces attacked
at the same time e.g. to play Nc7+ with Black Ke8, Ra8, Qd5. There is
an example in Capablanca-Treybal in the handout On manoeuvres and in the Canon.

slower openings aiming at control
of the centre rather than its occupation - for White, this includes
the English (1.c4), Reti (1.Nf3), and Catalan (1.d4,2.c4,3.g3)
openings. See the handout on the hypermoderns.

flight square:

a square available for a King to
move to. If a King has no flight squares, a check may give mate. See
my game against Terry GRAY in the Defence section of the Canon.

FM =

FIDE Master

force (noun):

loosely, material. Chernev anbd
Reinfeld see this as the other great defining theme of tactical play.
See the model game by Kasparov
in the Canon.

fork:

to attack two pieces, usually with a knight
e.g. Nf7 attacking Qd8 and Rh8.
Examples in the Tactics
section of the Canon.

fortress:

a defensive blockade, keeping out the
enemy forces, especially the King. One of the earliest known examples
is the fortress White Kc1, Pd3, Re3 which can hold the draw against
Black Kc8, Qd8. Try it!

gambit:

usually to sacrifice a pawn in the opening
to gain development.
Examples in the Openings
section of the Canon.

GM =

Grandmaster

half-open file:

a file with pawns of only one
colour. Look at the handouts on Rooks and,
if you are brave, the Minority Attack section of the handout on Pawn mobility.

half-passed pawn:

30 minutes after Pawn o'clock.
[example?]

hedgehog:

a solid defensive arrangement with Pawns
on the third rank e.g. Pb6,c5,d6,e6,g6, Bb7, Nbd7, Ngf6 and Be7 or
Bg7. There is a comment
on the potential of this formation under Nunn-Olafsson in the
Planning section of the Canon, and an example game Webb-Hartston
elsewhere in the Canon.

holes:

openings in the defensive front are called
holes - usually holes cannot be defended by pawns. To play ...g6
creates a hole at h6. See Steinitz-Blackburne in the
Strategical Themes section
of the Canon.

hypermodern:

the treatment of the opening by the
Hypermodern school, a description given them by Tartakower; I wrote a
little booklet on their treatment
of the opening.

ICS =

Internet Chess Server

IGM =

see GM

IM =

International Master

intermediary manoeuvre:

an in-between move or
apparent diversion from the main line of events. I read the term in
the Tartakower-duMont book, in an annotation to the
Tartakower-Capablanca game I encluded in the Tactics section of the Canon.

intermezzo:

see Zwischenzug

IQP =

Isolated Queen's Pawn

irruptive sacrifice:

to break into the defences
with a sacrifice e.g. Bxh7+, of which there are examples in the Attacking section of the Canon.

isolani:

Nimzovitch's term for an isolated pawn.

isolated pawn or isolani:

a pawn with no
friendly pawns on the next-door files. There are always negative
features, but may be compensating advantages - and these benefits are
seen in the most positive light with an isolated Queen's Pawn. See
the many examples in the Planning section of
the Canon.

isolated Queen's Pawn:

an isolated pawn on d4 or
d5 - here the compensating extra space and influence over the centre
are at their maximum and can compensate for its weakness in the middle
game. IQP positions often arise in the early middle-game from the QGD
and Caro-Kann. See the many examples in the Planning section of the Canon.

Italian diagonal:

the diagonal a2-g8 dominated by
Bc4 (or ...Bc5), the favoured development of the Italians of the
Modenese school. See the booklet on Italian
Game.

IWM =

International Woman Master

KIA =

King's Indian Attack. There is some commentary on
this opening in relation to the Sicilian Defence here..

kibitz:

to offer advice as a spectator - a
dangerous pastime.

KID =

King's Indian Defense. I based a session on this
system once, and the example games I used are filed under the Planning section of the Canon.

king hunt sacrifice:

a sacrifice whch exposes the
K in a way that it cannot retreat e.g. Qxh6+, Kxh6; Rh3+, Kg5 and the
hunt is on!

King hunt:

a chase of the King across the board -
which often arises after a sacrifice. [example?]
Examples in the Attacking
section of the Canon.

King's field combination:

a combination involving
the squares directly attacked by the King directly e.g. involving
Nxf7.
Examples in the Attacking
section of the Canon.

Knight defender:

the stalwart N on f3/f6 in front
of the castled King.

knight wheel:

a five-move circling motion of the N
to attack the square next to it, e.g. Nb1-a3-c4-e3-d1 to attack b2. A
game Capablanca-Yates is an [example?].

latitude of the draw:

to retain enough access and
control over all disputed areas of the board to avoid the risk of
losing, assuming with fair play on both sides. It may be that
commitment to an attack in one area risks losing the game because of
loss of control elsewhere. This is an underlying theme of the
Averbach-Keres game in the Errors section of the Canon.

line piece:

Rook or Bishop

line-clearance sacrifice:

a sacrifice to open up a
line e.g. Nf4 when ...exf5 opens up a line for a B on b2
The move 11.d6 model game Morphy-Meek
is both a decoy and a line-clearance sacrifice of a Pawn.

liquidating sacrifice:

a sacrifice, perhaps only
temporary, to secure exchanges. The 45th game of the first
Karpov-Kasparov match in the Defence section of the Canon is
a superb example of this.

liquidation:

exchange of several pieces in
succession, perhaps involving a forcing or temporary sacrifice. The
examples given in the Bishops handout
feature the Stahlberg/Capablanca manoeuvre, the aim of which is a
defensive liquidation.

little centre:

the squares e4/d4/e5/d5. Also known
as the basic centre.

long diagonal:

either of the diagonals a1-h8 or
h1-a8. A Bishop developed in fianchetto (q.v.) sits
on the long diagonal, and influences the little centre
(q.v.).

long side:

for a passed pawn on d6, the long side
is the files e-h, important in Rook endings.

lose a tempo:

to use one more move than necessary
in development or manoeuvre, thereby disadvantageously falling behind
in development or in a Pawn race. See the rules and examples from the Canon. Contrast with losing
the move.

lose the exchange:

to lose a rook for a bishop or
a knight

lose the move:

to use more moves than necessary in
development or manoeuvre, thereby advantageously gaining the
opposition or creating Zugzwang. Contrast with
losing a tempo.

in analysis, particularly of
the opening, the principal variation used or analysed. See the Analyis section of the Canon.

major pieces:

the Queen and Rooks

majority:

more pawn on one side than the opponent,
e.g. four pawns on efgh files against 3 pawns on fgh, with an open
d-file

majority attack:

the attack with a majority of
pawns, to create a passed pawn or break through to attack. See
Marshall-Capablanca and Alekhin-Marshall in the Pawn mobility handout.

MCO =

Modern Chess Openings

middlegame:

the game after the players have wholly
or mostly finished development.

mine:

a square which when occupied triggers a
combination [example?]

minor exchange:

to lose bishop for knight (not
always a disadvantage). See the bishops
handout.

minor pieces:

Knights and Bishops

minority:

fewer pawns on one side than your
opponent, e.g. 2 pawns on a+b-files against three pawns on abc.

minority attack:

to attack on a side where you
have fewer pawns, to create a weakness in the majority. A difficult
but important theme in the Pawn mobility
handout.

mobility:

freedom to manoeuvre, often because of
control of Space, an important Strategical Theme.

mysterious Rook move:

a purposeful move of a Rook
to a file which is not at present open (but may become so); one of
Nimzovotch's colourful usages. [example?]

N =

Novelty (see TN)

NM =

National Master

obstruct:

when a piece moves in front of an enemy
Pawn it obstructs its advance (see blockade) [example?]

occupation of centre:

to move pieces and pawns
toward the centre e.g. to play Pc3,d4,e4, Nf3,d2, Bc4,e3. Several
examples under "centralisation" in the Strategical Themes section of
the Canon.

offside piece:

a piece on the side of the board,
possibly distant from the main theatre of combat. A couple of
examples in the Strategical
Themes section of the Canon.

open game:

a position without locked pawn chains
in the centre, often arising from 1. e4 e5; see the
Pawn formations handout, and material on
example openings.

opening trap:

a trap in the opening.
The Traps
section of the Canon is full of them.

opening:

the first moves of a game where the
players are completing their development.

opposite coloured bishops:

having one bishop each
which travel on different coloured squares; makes defence harder in
the middle game, easier in the endgame. Examples, as always, in
the Canon, but there is also
a handout on Bishop endings.

opposition:

opposing Ks on e4 and e6 cannot pass
without one giving way - but the one that gives way is the
first to move, e.g. 1.Ke4-d4, Kf5; 2.Kd5, Kf4 and Black
passes with gain of tempo. This is described briefly in King and Pawn endings. See also conjugate
squares.

OTB =

Over-the-board (as opposed to correspondence/postal
chess)

outpost:

a square which cannot easily be attacked
by pawns, suitable for occupation by a knight or other piece.
1. e4 e5 creates potential outposts on d5/f5 for
White and d4/f4 for Black. Nc3-d5 may be met with
...c6, but if White plays Nd2-f1-e3-f5 Black may
hesitate before playing ...g6 which may create holes in front of the
king. See the Knights handout.

outside the square:

when chasing a passed pawn,
the K needs to be close enough to catch it - it will be close enough
if it is inside a square drawn with the pawn at the corner and the
'home run' to the last rank as the side. So for a Pc5 the square is
c5-g5-g8-c8, and if the Black K is outside (and cannot move in on the
next move), the Pawn will queen.

overload:

a piece or Pawn with too many defensive
tasks is overloaded.
There are examples in the Tactics
section of the Canon.

overloading sacrifice:

a sacrifice to overload a
defender e.g.Nxh7 may overload a Nf6 which defends h7 and e8.
There are examples in the Tactics
section of the Canon.

overprotection:

to over-defend a point e.g. e4 is
overprotected with Bc2, Nd2, Re1, Qe2, Ng3. The idea is that after
e.g. Nf5 and an exchange ...Bd7xf5, the recapture e4xf5 will suddenly
open up lines for the patient White pieces. Nimzovitch seemed to say
that overprotection is an end in itself, but more plausible is that
over-protection may make a strong move like Nf5 more decisive.
There are examples in the strategy/themes
section of the Canon.

passed pawn:

a pawn with no opposing pawns in
front or to the sides, which can therefore advance without being
exchanged by a pawn; often the only way to win once Queens are exchanged.
See the Endgame advice.

pawn chain:

connected pawns which protect each
other e.g. c3-d4-e5. See the Pawn
formations handout.

pawn islands:

Capablanca's term for groups of
connected pawns, separated by (half-) open files. White with Pawns on
a2, b2, d3, e4, f4 and h3 has three Pawn islands. There is an example
in the handout On manoeuvres.

pawn lever:

Kmoch's term for a pawn move that
tries to open lines, especially a file. See Pawn Break

pawn majority:

a greater number of Pawns, usually
on a wing e.g. White: Pa2, Pb2, Pc2 Black: Pa6, Pb5. See majority
attack.

pawn race:

in an endgame where Pawns on each side
race to promote - usually in a King and Pawn
endgame where the Pawns cannot be captured or obstructed.

pawn sacrifice:

a sacrifice of a pawn, often
called a gambit in the opening

penetrating sacrifice:

a sacrifice to get into the
heart of the defences e.g. Ng5xf7 against a king castled behind a
fianchetto.
There are examples in the Attacking
section of the Canon.

- usually, the important
drawing position in a Rook
ending. Also, a winning position in the ending of Rook and Bishop
against Rook.

pin:

a piece standing between an opponent's
line-piece (N/R/Q) and a piece of your own of a higher value is
pinned. After 1. e4 d6 2. Nf3 Bg4 the Nf3 is pinned.
There's a handout on Pins

positional sacrifice:

a sacrifice played for
long-term positional gain e.g. in the Sicilian defence ...Rc8xNc3 to
double the White pawns and weaken d5/e4; a nice defensive positional
sacrifice was made by Petrosian against Reshevsky, collected in the Defence section of the Canon.

preventive retreat:

a retreat made in
anticipation of an attack (rather than reacting to it) [example?]

prophylaxis:

prevention. Nimzovitch talked about
this rather as an end in itself, which is misleading. [example?]

propitiating sacrifice:

a defensive sacrifice,
hoping to slow up the attack long enough to organise a defence [example?]

QGA =

Queen's Gambit Accepted

QGD =

Queen's Gambit Declined

Queen hunt:

to chase and close down the space
available to a Q, with the aim of winning it - see the handout on Kings and Queens, and the Tactics section.

rank:

the rows of squares, e.g. a2-h2 is White's
second rank, Black's seventh.

resign:

to give up a losing game before mate. It
is polite to do so, and perhaps less painful for yourself, but some
players play on in the hope of their opponent blundering.

restricted centre:

adopting a modest central
formation with pawns on e.g. e6/d6. See the Pawn formations handout.

retrograde manoeuvre:

to move backwards - e.g.
Nc3-d1 so as to play c3. There is an example of this by Botvinnik
in the style section of the
Canon.

sacrifice for draw:

a sacrifice which has a draw
rather than a win as the aim, e.g. to sacrifice Nxg5 for one of two
pawns in the ending, leaving a Bd3 unable to support a Ph4 against a K
on g7/h8, or to achieve a perpetual check. See the Defence section of the Canon.

sacrifice for space:

to play e.g. the Cochrane
Gambit in the Petroff1. e4
e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4.Nxf7 which gains time to secure
the advance of the central pawns.

sacrifice:

to give up material - if you can see
how you can win back the material quickly, it is called a combination
or sacrificial combination, if you are just hoping to get a lasting
initiative and cash in later, it is sometimes called a
speculative sacrifice or, following Spielmann, a
real sacrifice. Spielmann referred to sacrificial
combinations as 'sham' sacrifices. Tartakower and DuMont describe a
dozen types of sacrifice, found elsewhere in this Glossary.

seventh:

short for the seventh rank (a2-h2 or
a7-h7) - a good place for a rook.

seventh rank:

the rank a7-h7 (or a2-h2 from
Black's side), which may be powerfully occupied by a R in the ending.
A famous example Capablanca-Tartakower is given in the appropriate handout.

Nimzovitch used the term seventh rank absolute for
control of the seventh rank by a Rook, with the enemy King trapped on
the back rank, as in that game.

short side:

for a passed P on d6, the files a-c
are the short side - crucial in Rook
endings.

skewer (X-ray attack):

attack by a line piece on
an enemy piece behind which is another enemy piece e.g. White Rd1,
Black Bd5, Bd7.
There are examples in the Tactics
section of the Canon.

SM =

Senior Master

smothered mate:

a K mated usually by a N when all
the escape squares are occupied by friendly men e.g. Nf7+ with
Kh8,Rg8,Pg7/h7. See the handout on Basic Mates.

stalemate:

no mate, but no possible (legal) moves
for one side is stalemate - often occurs with a lone K when the
attacking side overlooks the idea e.g. Kf6,Qd6 with K on e8 to move is
stalemate. See the handout on Basic Mates.

strong points:

squares where you dominate e.g. the
square e5 is often a strong point for Black after playing Pe5, Re8,
Nbd7 and Pd6 or Bd6. A hole for your opponent may be a strong point
for you; this is mostly clearly see with respect to Knight outposts .

tabiya:

(Arabic) Originally one of the
conventional starting formations for play, now used to describe key
positions arising from the opening. The examples given under
transposition in the Canon
are good examples.

TD =

Tournament Director

tempo:

a move lost or gained, often used in
discussing the opening. [example?]

tempo - fight for tempo:

for example, after
1. d4 d5 2. c4, if Black plays ...dxc4 White will
play e3 and Bf1xc4. If Black waits until White has already played e3
and Bd3, and then plays ...dxc4, White will of course play Bxc4 but
will have lost a move (Bf1-d3xc4). So White will try to wait, and
Black will also wait - hence the Tempo Struggle Variation1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 Nbd7
7. Rc1 Re8 8. Qc2 c6 9. a3 a6 10. h3... where White won't
yet play Bd3 and Black won't yet exchange.

temporary sacrifice:

a sacrificial combination
where the regain of material can be foreseen [example?]

TN =

Theoretical Novelty: A new idea in an opening line
(usually used when a GM first tries it).

trap:

a plausible move that loses to a hidden or
unexpected combination - e.g. 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 is a
simple trap, since the obvious 3. fxe5 fails to
3...Qh4+. 2...Bc5 is also a well-motivated move in
its own right, and is to be preferred to playing poor moves for the
sake of setting a trap that the opponent may spot.
The Traps
section of the Canon is full of both sorts!

trebuchet:

a common Zugzwang position, e.g.
White Ke5, Pd4; Black Kc4, Pd5.

triple:

to move all three major pieces onto a
file, as in the Alekhin-Nimzo game in the handout on Pins.

two bishops:

having both bishops where your
opponent has only two knights or a bishop and a knight; normally an
advantage. See the handout on Bishops.

undermining sacrifice:

a sacrifice to remove a
guard e.g. Nxd6 removing the defender of e5, or Ph5-h6 to undermine a
Knight on f6 [example?].

unmasking:

to uncover an attack (or defence), e.g.
Nf3-e5 may unmask the fianchettoed Bg2.
In the Tactics section of
the Canon there is an example of each, one under overloading, the
other under unmasking defence.

USCF =

United States Chess Federation

vacating sacrifice:

to sacrifice a piece thus
releasing a square for a more powerful piece e.g. Nh5xg7 allowing
Qe2-h5. Pawns are the commonest sacrifice made for this reason.
[example?]

vacation:

to leave a square so that another piece
may occupy it, e.g. Rf1-e1 and Bb5-f1 is sometimes played. [example?]

variation:

an alternative line of play: see
analysis

visualisation (sight of the board):

the ability to
picture and assess a position, as might arise in analysis of a
possible variation; a common source of error

weak pawn:

a Pawn that cannot easily be defended,
e.g. a backward pawn.
There are examples in the Strategy/themes section of the
Canon.

weak pawns:

generally, a collection of pawns which
have some of the features listed above: doubled, isolated,
backward...
There are examples in the Strategy/themes
section of the Canon.

weak square:

a square that cannot easily be
defended, and may become a hole or outpost for the
opponent.
There are examples in the Strategy/themes
section of the Canon.

weakness:

a weak Pawn or weak square
There are examples in the Strategy/themes
section of the Canon.

WGM =

International Woman Grandmaster

windmill:

an alternation of checks and captures
e.g. White Rg7, Bf6, Black Kh8 - the famous Torre-Lasker game is in the
Tactics
section of the Canon.

wrong bishop:

a Bishop which does not control the
Queening square of a Pawn, e.g. White: Kg3, Bf3, Pg4, Ph4, Black Kg8,
Nf6 - the move ...Nxg4 draws for Black despite the loss of the piece.
See the Bishop endings handout.

Zeitnot:

(German) time trouble [example?]

Zugzwang:

(German) where a side is satisfactorily
defended, but any move will upset the defence - and they must move!
This is not unusual in Rook endings and
other simplified positions - indeed, the opposition and
trebuchet are examples of Zugzwang - but it is most unusual
with more pieces on the board, although Nimzovitch fanously managed it
against Samisch, a game found in the Pawn
Mobility handout.

Zwischenzug:

(German) literally, in-between move. When, for
example, a re-capture is delayed for a move to make a capture, check
or threat elsewhere. [example?]
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Quotes

"Many players, even of a high calibre, will assert, half jokingly and half seriously, that a difficult labour of analysis can be replaced by intuition. 'I played this move in a flash - it was obvious it couldn't be bad' is the sort of thing we often hear in a post-mortem.